In the weeks before the NFL draft, USC wide receiver Jordan Addison visited about a half-dozen teams. "All of them," according to Addison, promised him they would draft him if he was available when they picked.
On Thursday night, the Patriots took Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez instead of Addison with the 17th pick. The two teams who picked immediately in front of the Vikings (the Chargers and Ravens) selected receivers Quentin Johnston and Zay Flowers, respectively. The Vikings, who were the last team to host Addison on a pre-draft visit, were the ones who'd meant what they said about taking him.
"This is where I'm supposed to be," Addison said in his introductory news conference at the Vikings' headquarters on Friday. "They believe in me, and I'm just glad to be here."
Addison, the 23rd pick in the draft on Thursday night, became the Vikings' top choice after a pre-draft visit that helped him transcend questions about his size and top-end speed. The 5-11 receiver weighs only 173 pounds, making him one of the smaller receivers in the draft, and ran a modest 40-yard dash time of 4.49 seconds while battling a back injury at the combine.
But Addison, who was an option quarterback in youth football and played both receiver and cornerback at Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Md., impressed the Vikings with a nuanced understanding of the game that made coach Kevin O'Connell remark, "The game makes sense to him." The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner as college football's top receiver flashed an ability to separate from corners on sharp breaks in college, while lining up in different spots frequently enough to suggest he could do the same in the NFL.
"When I got to high school, I started watching — well, Stefon Diggs was from around my area, so he was a top receiver coming out of Maryland," Addison said. "The way he ran routes and his mind-set about everything just kind of shifted my perspective because I was a quarterback at first. I started looking up to them guys. That's when I switched my position to receiver in high school, and I never looked back."
The Vikings released a video from their draft room on Thursday that showed O'Connell referring to Addison as a "Day 1 starter." Though K.J. Osborn figures to play a larger role alongside Justin Jefferson after Adam Thielen's departure, Addison should get plenty of chances.
"The drive that he has to be great, it's already set in," O'Connell said. "He's already asking for a playbook and, 'What are we going to be doing here or there?' or, 'How are you planning on using me?' and all those things are things we started talking about on our [top] 30 visit."
Addison will have to show he can handle press coverage, given how likely defenses seem to test his strength with physical techniques. O'Connell said Thursday night the Vikings will use motion and different formations to get Addison open, while saying Addison proved he can handle press coverage in college.
The Vikings' player health and performance staff will help Addison build strength, O'Connell said, adding he thinks the 21-year-old "still has some upside from a physical standpoint." Addison said he's comfortable playing at 173 pounds. "All I need to do is get stronger," he said.
It doesn't seem like the Vikings will wait for Addison to fill out before giving him a chance to play a big role. He made enough of an impression on their scouts, and he clicked with O'Connell well enough during his visit to Minnesota, that the Vikings decided to take him instead of trading their pick before their time on the clock expired.
"I can run routes all day and I'm ready to work," Addison said. "But just coming into a great receiver group as a young receiver or a young rookie, that's what you want, a lot of great receivers that have already proven themselves that I can go learn from."